Gay rights activist Leon Rouse keeps landing on his feet, thanks to a handful of Hawaii lawmakers – all from Hawaii's majority party – who appear to have a soft spot for the convicted sex offender. Currently, Rouse, who has always maintained he is innocent of sexual misconduct, is employed as a committee clerk by the chair of the Senate Health Committee, Roz Baker, a Democrat from Maui. Rouse was serving as the office manager for freshman Rep. Rida Cabanilla, D-Waipahu, when he became the focus of a series of high-profile news reports during the 2005 legislative session. Several lawmakers, including Democrat Sen. Brian Kanno, had attempted to coerce Norwegian Cruise Lines into paying off Rouse after he was reportedly fired for sexual harassment – even though Rouse had previously been convicted and served 8 years in prison in the Philippines for having sex with an underage boy.
The news reports about Rouse kept coming during the 2005 Legislative session. Hawaii voters learned several lawmakers aggressively lobbied and threatened Norwegian Cruise Lines with legislation requiring the company to pay additional taxes, if Rouse was not compensated. Kanno asked his colleagues, both House and Senate elected officials, to sign a letter demanding that the company rehire Rouse or pay him restitution and travel expenses. The letter dated August 24, 2004, to Norwegian Cruise Line, was signed by Democrat Senators Kanno, Baker, Suzanne Chun Oakland, Brian Taniguchi and Carol Fukunaga – all chairs of their respective committees. In addition, House Chairs Roy Takumi, Kenneth Hiraki and Eric Hamakawa signed the letter.
Kanno also introduced a resolution requiring the cruise line to detail its sexual harassment policy, and demanded that the State Department of Taxation consider mandating the cruise line pay Hawaii’s 7.25 percent hotel room tax. The Senate members who signed the resolution include: Sens. Carol Fukunaga, Roz Baker, Brian Kanno, Gary Hooser, Clarence Nishihara, Ron Menor, Russell Kokubun, Kalani English, Colleen Hanabusa and Brian Taniguchi.
Rep. Colleen Meyer, R-Kaaawa, in an op-ed in Hawaii Reporter, said "State Sen. Brian Kanno, D-Kapolei, inappropriately aided accused sexual harasser Leon Rouse by telling Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL), a company trying to protect its employees, what to do. And by advocating for the alleged sexual harasser, Sen. Kanno exploited his Senate power position." Senate Republicans asked the Senate President, Robert Bunda, D-Waialua, to force Kanno to step down as chair of the labor committee – he refused. The Senate Republicans also filed a complaint against Kanno for his actions, asking the State Ethics Commission to determine whether Kanno abused his position and power as a lawmaker. To date, the State Ethics Commission has not issued its ruling.
Kanno reportedly helped to get Rouse a job with the apparently unsuspecting Cabanilla. Rouse resigned from that office manager position in April 2005 when he admitted he had not told Cabanilla of his conviction in the Philippines. Hawaii Reporter retained an attorney in the Philippines to obtain authentic and certified court records of the of the Rouse proceedings. A portion of these records detail the accusations against him:
"On or about the 4th day of October 1995, in the City of Laoag, Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the herein accused did then and there, willfully, unlawfully, and feloniously by using his adult influence and promising to pay 200 pesos ($3.79 US), engage one Godfrey Domingo, a male child who is below 18 years of age, as in fact he is 15 years old, for lascivious acts and committed said acts by masturbating and sucking the penis of the child and inserting his penis into the anus of the child all of which acts were committed by the accused on said child at Room 205 of the Pichay Lodging House at Laoag City, but which acts although already performed by the accused on the child was discontinued due to the intervention of the police who apprehended the accused who was then naked and in the company of Godfrey Domingo who was also naked in Room 205 of the Pichay Lodging House."According to the Philippines court records, police had been searching for a foreigner who was said to be soliciting sex from young boys, and were given a tip that Rouse was at the hotel. They forced their way into the room after confirming with hotel management that Rouse was inside with a young boy. He was arrested for the violation of the country’s child abuse law, and Domingo, in the presence of his parents, admitted he’d performed sex acts for money. Rouse was convicted, but appealed his case all the way to the Supreme Court where his conviction stood.
Rouse has always maintained his innocence in regards to the conviction against him. With the help of several highly placed politicians, he appealed to the United Nations for help, claiming he was set up and unfairly treated. The United Nations Human Rights Committee sided with Rouse issuing a written report that said its investigators agreed Rouse was mistreated. They also said Rouse did not receive proper medical attention, was arrested without a warrant and was not fairly tried because the child was not present for cross-examination, rather his sworn statement obtained by police was used in court.